Before "The Expanse" appeared on my radar, I would have called BSG the best SciFi series without competition. Now it gracefully shares the throne.
This show is also referred to as the "reimagined" version of Battlestar Galactica, and I think this is an accurate description considering that one cannot really call it a remake. I have to admit that I never watched the original BSG series from the late 1970s. If I'm being honest, I don't think I ever will. However, it's interesting to see how both shows managed to address the geopolitical context of their time in their own, unique way. The original BSG was known to be a parable of the Cold War (with the robotic, swarm-intelligent Cylons clearly representing the Soviets). In contrast, the reimagined BSG has tackled its post 9/11 context and explores themes like religious fanaticism (the monotheistic Cylons), which is juxtaposed with the more liberal, polytheistic society of the human colonies. It speaks volumes that the main threat to the human colonial society is not just the incessant pursuit of the cylons, but the militarization, securitization, and decay of democratic institutions amongst the human survivors. One of the most interesting parts of the show looks at the problem of occupation from the perspective of the occuppied and the collaborators in their midst - some scenes are characteristically filmed with the greenish tint of night-vision cameras that could as well show CNN footage of raiding houses in Fallujah, Iraq.
It is much to the credit of the show that none of these political allusions are entirely obvious or unequivocal. BSG is not a show that aims to make political statements, it's rather a show that draws attention to the fact that things are never as easy or clear-cut as we would like them to be - and that in political and military affairs, the road to hell is often paved with the best of intentions.
On this note, the genre of BSG is not just science fictions, it's (more specifically) military science fiction. The creators of the show seem to have developed an entire body of theory and doctrine on ship-to-ship combat in space. While I don't want to enter any endless discussion of "realism", I personally found the way BSG portrays combat in outer space very fascinating and (within the confines of the show) consistent. Suffice it to say, it is heavily influenced by a meticulous study World War II naval battles. While CGI technology was not what it is today, most of the scenes in space are aesthetically very pleasing and the space battles are amongst the most engaging I have ever seen in this genre.
On a more general level, the looks and visual atmosphere of BSG are just as impressive as the complex and well-crafted storyline. Ships feel appropriately claustrophobic, they are heavily armored hulks of steel with wires, metallic bulkheads, and flickering neon lights - in many ways the exact opposite of what you might find in "Star Trek". The few planetary surfaces of the show are equally unique, from the over-saturated green of the fallen Garden Eden of Cobol and the sickly yellow tint of irradiated Caprica to the barren planes of New Caprica and the bubbling miasma of the "Algae Planet".
The entire storyline of the show is truly remarkable. After the existential shock of the opening episodes, which depicted nothing less than the nuclear holocaust of an interplanetary human civilization, the show remained thrilling and very tense - almost as if there was a dark, constant undercurrent running through every single episode. At the same time, the introduction of both mystical and mysterious elements - BSG later became famous for it's "circular view of history" - captured my imagination. I still shudder thinking about the strangely meaningful, yet utterly senseless, dadaistic poetry of the human-cylon hybrids who have gone mad from what was never meant to be fused ("End of line"). The different models of the "skin jobs" are equally fascinating, especially after it dawns upon the viewer that each of these (slightly different) non-individuals follows the same patterns and maximes of behaviour (e.g. Lioben always lies).
The same fascination extends to the human characters: One of my all-time favorites was William Adama, the intransigant patriarch, sometimes a fatherly caretaker, sometimes a ruthless military commander with tyrannic tendencies. (Take note of some of the later scenes where Adama and his XO Tigh engage into serious orgies of boozing that usually degerate into the spiteful ramblings of disappointed old men). The brilliantly acted Kara Thrace, whose inner struggles and desparation were almost palpable, is another great example of this show's memorable spectrum of characters.
Bottom line: This show is a must-see for every fan of intelligent science fiction. It is also warmy recommended to anybody who does not fit this description.
This show is also referred to as the "reimagined" version of Battlestar Galactica, and I think this is an accurate description considering that one cannot really call it a remake. I have to admit that I never watched the original BSG series from the late 1970s. If I'm being honest, I don't think I ever will. However, it's interesting to see how both shows managed to address the geopolitical context of their time in their own, unique way. The original BSG was known to be a parable of the Cold War (with the robotic, swarm-intelligent Cylons clearly representing the Soviets). In contrast, the reimagined BSG has tackled its post 9/11 context and explores themes like religious fanaticism (the monotheistic Cylons), which is juxtaposed with the more liberal, polytheistic society of the human colonies. It speaks volumes that the main threat to the human colonial society is not just the incessant pursuit of the cylons, but the militarization, securitization, and decay of democratic institutions amongst the human survivors. One of the most interesting parts of the show looks at the problem of occupation from the perspective of the occuppied and the collaborators in their midst - some scenes are characteristically filmed with the greenish tint of night-vision cameras that could as well show CNN footage of raiding houses in Fallujah, Iraq.
It is much to the credit of the show that none of these political allusions are entirely obvious or unequivocal. BSG is not a show that aims to make political statements, it's rather a show that draws attention to the fact that things are never as easy or clear-cut as we would like them to be - and that in political and military affairs, the road to hell is often paved with the best of intentions.
On this note, the genre of BSG is not just science fictions, it's (more specifically) military science fiction. The creators of the show seem to have developed an entire body of theory and doctrine on ship-to-ship combat in space. While I don't want to enter any endless discussion of "realism", I personally found the way BSG portrays combat in outer space very fascinating and (within the confines of the show) consistent. Suffice it to say, it is heavily influenced by a meticulous study World War II naval battles. While CGI technology was not what it is today, most of the scenes in space are aesthetically very pleasing and the space battles are amongst the most engaging I have ever seen in this genre.
On a more general level, the looks and visual atmosphere of BSG are just as impressive as the complex and well-crafted storyline. Ships feel appropriately claustrophobic, they are heavily armored hulks of steel with wires, metallic bulkheads, and flickering neon lights - in many ways the exact opposite of what you might find in "Star Trek". The few planetary surfaces of the show are equally unique, from the over-saturated green of the fallen Garden Eden of Cobol and the sickly yellow tint of irradiated Caprica to the barren planes of New Caprica and the bubbling miasma of the "Algae Planet".
The entire storyline of the show is truly remarkable. After the existential shock of the opening episodes, which depicted nothing less than the nuclear holocaust of an interplanetary human civilization, the show remained thrilling and very tense - almost as if there was a dark, constant undercurrent running through every single episode. At the same time, the introduction of both mystical and mysterious elements - BSG later became famous for it's "circular view of history" - captured my imagination. I still shudder thinking about the strangely meaningful, yet utterly senseless, dadaistic poetry of the human-cylon hybrids who have gone mad from what was never meant to be fused ("End of line"). The different models of the "skin jobs" are equally fascinating, especially after it dawns upon the viewer that each of these (slightly different) non-individuals follows the same patterns and maximes of behaviour (e.g. Lioben always lies).
The same fascination extends to the human characters: One of my all-time favorites was William Adama, the intransigant patriarch, sometimes a fatherly caretaker, sometimes a ruthless military commander with tyrannic tendencies. (Take note of some of the later scenes where Adama and his XO Tigh engage into serious orgies of boozing that usually degerate into the spiteful ramblings of disappointed old men). The brilliantly acted Kara Thrace, whose inner struggles and desparation were almost palpable, is another great example of this show's memorable spectrum of characters.
Bottom line: This show is a must-see for every fan of intelligent science fiction. It is also warmy recommended to anybody who does not fit this description.